Syria war: 8 years on, Christian charity says lives remain in limbo

A Catholic charity has raised concerns about the Syrian conflict entering into its ninth year.

The UN estimates that the conflict to date has killed over 400,000 people and left 6.1 million people homeless within Syria, with an additional 500,000 fleeing to neighbouring countries.

However, after eight years of conflict, there's still no end in sight for the war.

Elouise Hobbs, World News Officer at CAFOD recently returned from Lebanon where she met Syrian refugees.

She told Premier of one woman she met: "I met one young woman called Aya and she's the same age as me. And I was really amazed at her resilience despite the trauma she had faced and I was really struck with how different our lives are.

"She'd come to Lebanon for a holiday with her family, and because of the war, she was unable to return home. So, she had been stuck in Lebanon for seven years.

"She was one of the lucky ones because she was able to continue her education, but there are hundreds of people in Lebanon, usually young women who've had to stop their education and put their lives on hold basically because of the conflict."

A peaceful uprising against the president of Syria almost eight years ago rapidly escalated and the country descended into full-scale civil war.

Neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, which are hosting 93 per cent of asylum seeking Syrians, have struggled to cope with one of the largest refugee exoduses in recent history.

Hobbs encouraged Christians to continue praying for the war-torn nation.

Listen to Premier's Eno Adeogun speaking with Elouise Hobbs:

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